The Adair County R-II School District will be recognized as winners
at an awards ceremony during the International Reading Association's
National Conference in Indianapolis, IN, May 3-8, 2000. The Brashear
Elementary Title I Program was chosen as one of four 1999-2000
Title I Distinguished Schools in the state of Missouri.

The 1999-2000 Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Program
serves to identify schools that are (1) ensuring that all children
have access to effective instructional strategies and challenging
academic content; and (2) demon-strating success in ensuring that
all children, particularly educationally deprived children, make
significant progress towards learning that content.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
sought schools that had demonstrated significant gains in all
of the key areas. The Adair County R-II School has shown excellence
in each of the following: opportunities for all children to meet
proficient and advanced levels of performance, professional development,
coordination of Title programs with other programs, curriculum
and instruction to support achievement of high standards, and
partnerships between schools, parents, and communities.

The students, parents, teachers, staff and administration of the
elementary school should be commended for their excellent job
this year and in years past.

ACADEMIC BOWL

Congratulations to the 2000 junior high school Academic
Bowl Team. Team members include Shaina Mountain, Brooke Crandall,
Jenny Elsea, Katie Thudium, and Alicia Longano.

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

Incumbent Eddy T. Turner and Bradley A. Smith have
filed for the two available positions on the Adair County R-II
School Board. Please remember to vote in the general election
on Tuesday, April 4, 2000 for your local Board members.

If you are not a registered voter, the last day to register to
vote in the general election is Wednesday, March 8.

BRASHEAR TOURNAMENT

The Adair County R-II 71st Annual Invitational Tournament will
be held from Monday, January 31 through Saturday, February 5 at
the Brashear High School gymnasium. We will host eight teams:
Bevier, Clark County JV, Douglass, Newtown-Harris, Novinger, Revere,
St. Thomas Seminary and Wyaconda. The tournament bracket is included
with this mailing so you can find game times, etc.

The admission fees for the tournament games are $2.00 for students,
$3.00 for adults or $8 per family. Family is defined as parent(s)
and child(ren) only. We hope to have good community support, as
we always have, for the tournament games.

We also ask you to remember our tournament is centered around
winning, as is true in any competition. More important than winning,
however, is the attitude with which the athletes and fans approach
the game. As fans we must do our best to set a good example for
those around us. Cheer for your favorite team in the spirit of
the game and leave the officiating to the professionals who are
trained for the task. We wish for each team to play their best,
and may the best team win.

FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

We all welcome good news. It pleases me to take this
opportunity to share some good news with you about our elementary
school.

The state has been reviewing data from the Missouri
Assessment Program (MAP) for a variety of reasons. One purpose
was to identify those school buildings which had the highest percent
of students scoring proficient or above in the various content
areas and grade levels. Our third grade students ranked in the
Top 10 in science.

We have also received notification of another honor
this month. The Elementary Title I Program was chosen as one of
four 1999-2000 Title I Distinguished Schools in the state of Missouri.
Our school will be recognized at an awards ceremony in May during
the International Reading Association's National Conference in
Indianapolis, IN.

Please take the time to let our students and teachers
know you appreciate their efforts. Our goal is to keep improving
in all areas.

What does it mean to be successful in school? Some
would say you must be a great athlete, others would say you need
to have the top grades in your class, others would say you need
lots of friends, but the real question is what do you and your
child believe?

I believe we must have a balance in all of the above.
It is important to recognize that everyone is gifted in a special
unique way. Success for each student is the key to a successful
school. We need to use all of our resources to develop the best
school possible. First, the most important resource known to our
school is human resource. Second, the best way to develop this
vast untapped potential of human resource is through positive
human relations. It takes everyone in the community to create
a successful school.

Dr. Joyce Montgomery

Tolerance

Character Word For The Month

Tolerance looks past appearance and first impressions
to see a person's character. It sees individuals as unique rather
than stereotypes. Tolerance withholds judgment until there is
sufficient information from reliable sources to make an informed
decision. Tolerance realizes there is more to a person than meets
the eye.

When tempted to judge others, tolerant individuals
show discretion by listening and thinking carefully before they
speak. By being slow to judge, tolerant individuals have time
to recognize their own character deficiencies. All too often,
the things that irritate people the most are the very things they
unknowingly do themselves. Criticizing the character faults of
another simply exposes a person to criticism in return.

This month make it a point to discuss the word tolerance
with your child. Tolerance is coming out of your shell to see
life from another's perspective. Part of being tolerant is accepting
others the way they were made and not allowing unchangeable differences
to get in the way of being friends with other people. Remember
a classroom runs smoothly when children show tolerance to each
other. While tolerance doesn't eliminate conflict, it helps children
to work together to resolve problems.

MENU

Breakfast/Lunch

Breakfast each day includes cereal, milk, juice or
fruit. New regulations mandate the main entree for the day must
be placed on each tray (designated by * in daily menu).